Hamilton Beach MixMate Ultra 62684: When A Big Mixer is Too Much

My mother claims to be only 29 (a claim she has made for many years now.) Though she is 29 again, the time has come when some things are harder to do than they used to be. Among the difficulties she has is getting down and putting back her large, heavy duty (emphasis on heavy) stand-mixer. There are times when nothing else will do for the job at hand. For making a couple of loaves of bread, she needs the monster machine.

Often, however, the job doesn't require the power of the big machine. A small mixer does just as well. Her old hand mixer, a remnant of my mother's college kitchen, finally gave up the ghost. It was time for a new hand mixer. My mother didn't do much research. She just saw the MixMate™ Ultra Hand Mixer 62684 on sale one day and decided to buy it.

The MixMate™ Ultra Hand Mixer is lighter than mom's old hand mixer, but is still very well made. It has a 200 watt motor. That's 33% less power than mom's stand mixer, however, for beating eggwhites, mixing cake batter or other similar chores, that's plenty of ooomph!

Where this mixer beats mom's heavy duty mixer is in its versatility. The stand mixer comes with a bowl that clips onto it. No other bowl works in conjunction with it. With the hand beater, it's possible to mix in all of mom's old glass mixing bowls - large and small. That's great when you have to beat egg whites in one bowl and the other ingredients separately.

Another issue is that my mother is somewhat short. The big stand mixer doesn't allow her to look down on the dish she's preparing without great effort or a stepstool. With a handmixer, she can hold things while she works, or work while sitting at the kitchen table.

This handmixer has 6 speeds and includes a "quickburst" button for times when it makes sense to mix by pulsing.

The design is nicely ergonomic and feels comfortable in the hand. Unlike the old hand mixer, this one has a padded feeling handle. When you're working for a few minutes, it doesn't matter much. When you're cooking constantly (and my mother does) having a more comfy handle is a huge blessing.

Perhaps the neatest thing about this mixer is that it is designed to rest on the edge of a mixing bowl. This means that the beaters can stay over the ingredients.

The mixer comes with both chrome beaters and whisk. The whisk is great for incorporating lots of air and getting really big results from egg whites and whipped cream.

Both mom and I have been very happy with this mixer. In the two weeks since she purchased it, it has gotten a hefty workout. It's still going strong. I know that mixers are no longer made to last 45 years as mom's old one did (neat trick when you consider my mom's age), but I am confident that this new Hamilton Beach mixer will be with her for a long time.